Reflective vehicle trim

ABSTRACT

A reflective laminated strip includes an aluminum alloy strip having a cleaned and conversion coated outer surface, an adhesive layer adjacent the conversion coated outer surface, and a polymer layer joined to the adhesive layer. An exterior side of the polymer layer is coated with a reflective metal layer that is preferably stainless steel, chromium or aluminum having a thickness of less than about 5000 Å.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to brightened aluminum alloy trim suitable for use on automobiles, trucks, boats and other vehicles and to a process for making such trim.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Shaped strips of stainless steel, stainless steel clad over aluminum, and various polymers combined with reflective metal layers are widely used as decorative trim on automobiles, trucks, boats and other vehicles. This decorative trim must be resistant to chemical attack and must have sufficient mechanical strength to resist denting after it is installed. Prior art steel and polymer based trim materials generally perform adequately but they are expensive. Accordingly, there still remains a need to provide an aluminum alloy based vehicle trim that is less expensive than steel and polymer based trim of the prior art.

The vehicle trim of our invention must be sufficiently reflective that it has substantially mirror-like characteristics, even after it is shaped in a roll-forming die. The term "substantially mirror-like" means that the trim surface has a distinctness of image ("D/I") of at least 80%. The D/I is the sharpness of a reflected image, as measured by the ratio of reflectance at 0.3° from specular to the reflectance at the specular angle. That is, ##EQU1## where D/I=0 for a perfect diffuser and D/I=100% for a perfect mirror. The total reflectance of a surface is irrelevant in a consideration of its D/I.

As used herein, the term "strip" refers to a relatively narrow and thin sheet of an aluminum alloy. The width is about 1-40 cm, preferably about 2-10 cm, and the thickness is about 0.4-3.2 mm, preferably about 0.5-2.5 mm.

Numerous attempts have been made in the prior art to provide reflective metal finishes on the outer surfaces of laminated articles of various shapes for use as vehicle trim. Some prior art patents describing laminated articles having reflective surfaces are Dunning U.S. Pat. No. 4,101,698; Madonia U.S. Pat. No. 4,296,155; Nussbaum U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,349,592 and 4,368,225; Yamamoto U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,762; Yaver U.S. Pat. No. 4,877,657 and Suzuki U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,245. However, there is still a need for vehicle trim strips having a highly reflective surface, light weight and low cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with the present invention, there is provided a process for making a reflective laminated strip.

An aluminum alloy sheet is cleaned to remove surface contaminants from at least one outer surface. The sheet has a thickness in the range of about 0.4-3.2 mm, preferably about 0.5-2.5 mm. A particularly preferred sheet has a thickness of about 0.8 mm (1/32 in).

The aluminum alloy sheet is made from a body containing about 90 wt. % or more aluminum together with one or more alloying elements. The preferred alloying elements are magnesium, comprising about 0.5 to 10 wt. % of the alloy; magnesium and silicon, each comprising about 0.5 to 2 wt. % of the alloy; and zinc, comprising about 0.8 to 8 wt. % of the alloy. Various aluminum alloys in sheet form are suitable for practice of the present invention including alloys of the 5000, 6000 and 7000 series (Aluminum Association designations). Some appropriate tempers are the H1X, H2X, H3X and 0 tempers (Aluminum Association designations).

Aluminum alloys of the AA5000 series are preferred, especially the AA5000 series alloys containing about 5 wt. % or less magnesium. Some suitable compositions include the 5182, 5052, 5657 and 5252 aluminum-magnesium alloys; the 6306 aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy and the 7029 aluminum-zinc alloy (Aluminum Association series). A particularly preferred AA5182 alloy sheet is provided with an H2X temper.

The aluminum alloy sheet is uncoiled and cleaned in a non-etching aqueous alkaline cleaning solution to remove organic surface contaminants.

A conversion coating is next applied to the sheet in order to confer good adhesion to a polymeric adhesive layer and for improved corrosion resistance in the final product. Both chrome-containing and chrome-free systems are suitable. The chrome conversion coating generally contains a chromate and a phosphate. Some known non-chromate conversion coatings are solutions containing zirconate, titanate, molybdate, tungstate, vanadate and silicate ions, generally in combination with hydrogen fluoride or other fluorine compounds.

One suitable chrome-free conversion coating is the Betz Dearborn 1903 dry-in-place system. A suitable chrome-containing conversion coating is the Betz Dearborn 1904 system. These coatings are preferably applied by roll-coating to both sides of the sheet.

A polymeric adhesive layer is applied to the cleaned and conversion coated sheet surface. The adhesive is preferably an epoxy-containing adhesive such as Morton 503A together with co-reactant F. The adhesive layer has a thickness of about 5-50 microns (0.2-2 mils). A particularly preferred adhesive layer has a thickness of about 0.4 mil (10 microns). Optionally, a thinner layer of an inexpensive coating may also be applied to a back side of the aluminum sheet. The back side coating may be a PPG 1BHC5428 epoxy with a thickness of approximately 0.1 to 0.3 mils (3-8 microns).

An adhesive layer is joined to a polymer sheet having an interior side adjacent the adhesive layer and an exterior side coated with a reflective metal layer. The polymer sheet is preferably a polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), and may also be a polyimide, a polyolefine such as polypropylene, or polyvinyl chloride. The polymer sheet must be resistant to outgassing when it is placed in a vacuum sputtering chamber. The polyester sheet may have a thickness of about 10-100 microns, preferably about 10-30 microns. A particularly preferred polyester sheet has a thickness of about 1 mil (25 microns).

An exterior side of the polyester sheet is vacuum sputtered with a reflective metal layer having a thickness of less than about 5000 Å. The metal layer may be chromium, stainless steel, aluminum or combinations thereof. Combinations of stainless steel and chromium having a total thickness of about 300-2000 Å are preferred.

Optionally, the reflective metal layer is covered with a clear protective layer to improve scratch resistance. The protective layer is thinner than the metal layer and is preferably an oxide of silicon or titanium applied at a thickness of about 50-500 Å. The protective layer is sputtered over the metal layer in a vacuum chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flow sheet diagram of the process of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a piece of shaped vehicle trim made in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic fragmentary cross-sectional view of the reflective laminated strip of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an alternative piece of shaped vehicle trim made in accordance with the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, an aluminum alloy sheet is laminated with a metallized polymer sheet in a continuous coil process. The laminate is then cut and shaped into strips that are useful for trim on vehicles.

As shown in FIG. 1, a coil 10 of AA5182 alloy sheet 11 in the H2E84 temper having a width of about 48 inches (1.22 m) is unwound in a continuous process. The sheet 11 has a thickness of about 1/32 inch (0.8 mm).

The sheet is cleaned in an alkaline bath 13 to remove residual lubricants and other surface contaminants. The bath 13 is a dilute alkaline solution containing sodium carbonate dissolved in water.

The cleaned sheet is roll coated on both sides by rolls 15, 16 wetted by containers 17, 18 holding Betz Dearborn 1904 conversion coating solution. The conversion coated sheet includes an adherent film on both sides having a coating thickness of about 5-25 mg/ft², preferably about 10 mg/ft².

The conversion coated sheet is coated on its top side or first outer surface 20 with a roll 21 wetted by a container 22 of Morton 503A epoxy adhesive together with co-reactant F. The epoxy adhesive layer has a thickness of approximately 0.4 mil (10 microns).

A back side or second outer surface 25 is coated by a roll 26 wetted with a wash coating supplied by a container 27. The back side coating layer is preferably a PPG 1BHC5428 epoxy having a thickness of approximately 0.1 to 0.3 mil (3-8 microns).

The adhesive and epoxy coating layers are cured in an oven 30 heated to a temperature of about 400°-500° F. A satisfactory cure is achieved within about 60 seconds.

The sheet passes from the oven 30 into a set of rolls 32, 33 where a metallized polyester sheet 35 is pressed against the first outer surface 20. An interior side 36 of the sheet 35 faces the first outer surface 20 and an exterior side 37 is coated with a reflective metal layer. A particularly preferred polyester sheet 35 has a thickness of about 1 mil (25 microns). The vacuum sputtered reflective metal layer is preferably a chromium layer having a thickness of about 1000 Å.

The laminated sheet or laminate 40 is rewound onto a coil 45. The laminate 40 is then transferred to a cutter 50 where it is cut into elongated strips each having a width of about 0.4-16 inches (1-40 cm). The strips are then shaped by a set of shaping dies 55. One example of a piece of shaped vehicle trim 60 made by the process of our invention is shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 3, a vehicle trim strip 60 of the invention includes an aluminum alloy strip 61 covered by a conversion coating 62. An epoxy adhesive layer 63 joins the aluminum strip 61 to a polyester layer 64 covered by a reflective chromium layer 65. A sputtered silica layer 66 overlies the chromium layer 65.

An alternative vehicle trim strip 70 of the invention is shown in FIG. 4. The strip 70 includes an aluminum alloy substrate 72 having a reflective surface 74 and three surfaces 76, 77, 78 adhered to opaque strips 76a, 77a, 78a. The reflective surface 74 is adhered to a polyester layer 80 covered by a reflective chromium layer, all as described above. The opaque strips 76a, 77a, 78a are preferably made from a thermoplastic polymer such as polyvinyl chloride, chlorinated polyvinyl chloride, a polyolefin such as grafted polypropylene, silicone rubber, EPDM rubber, or a polysulfone. Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is particularly preferred.

The strip 70 is manufactured by providing an aluminum alloy substrate 72 joined with the polyester layer 80 to an adhesive applicator. There, an adhesive layer is applied only to the three surfaces 76, 77, 78 that are to be covered by opaque strips. The adhesive coated strip is fed through an extruder where an opaque, pigmented PVC layer is coextruded onto the entire strip. The PVC layer is preferably scored with sharp knife blades at side edges of the reflective polyester layer 80. Although the entire substrate 72 is covered with PVC, the PVC is easily removed from areas such as the polyester layer 80 not covered by adhesive. The opaque strips 76a, 77a, 78a remain adhered to the substrate 72 over the three areas where adhesive was applied.

Having described the presently preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention may be otherwise embodied within the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A process for making a reflective laminated strip suitable for use as vehicle trim comprising:(a) cleaning at least one outer surface of an aluminum alloy sheet to remove contaminants therefrom and to leave a cleaned surface; (b) conversion coating said cleaned surface to generate thereon an adherent film comprising a metal compound; (c) applying to the conversion coated outer surface a polymeric adhesive layer; (d) joining to said adhesive layer a polymer sheet having a thickness of about 10-100 microns and comprising an interior side adjacent said adhesive layer and an exterior side coated with a reflective metal layer having a thickness of less than about 5000 Å and comprising a metal selected from the group consisting of steel, chromium, aluminum and mixtures thereof, thereby to form a metal-polymer laminate; and (e) cutting and shaping said laminate into at least one strip suitable for use as vehicle trim.
 2. The process of claim 1 wherein said aluminum alloy sheet comprises an alloy selected from the group consisting of an aluminum-magnesium alloy of the AA5000 series, an aluminum-magnesium-silicon alloy of the AA6000 series and an aluminum-zinc alloy of the AA7000 series.
 3. The process of claim 1 wherein said aluminum alloy sheet has a thickness of about 0.4-3.2 mm.
 4. The process of claim 1 wherein said adhesive layer comprises an epoxy and has a thickness of about 5-50 microns.
 5. The process of claim 1 wherein said polymer sheet comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyimides, polyesters, and polyolefins.
 6. The process of claim 1 wherein said polymer sheet has a thickness of about 20-60 microns.
 7. The process of claim 1 wherein said reflective metal layer has a thickness of about 200-3000 Å.
 8. The process of claim 1 further comprising:(f) covering said reflective metal layer with a protective layer comprising an oxide of silicon or titanium.
 9. The process of claim 8 wherein said protective layer has a thickness of about 50.500 Å.
 10. A process for making a coextruded laminated strip having a reflective outer surface and at least one opaque outer surface comprising:(a) cleaning at least one outer surface of an aluminum alloy sheet to remove surface contaminants therefrom and to leave a cleaned outer surface; (b) conversion coating said cleaned surface to generate thereon an adherent film comprising a metal compound; (c) applying a polymeric adhesive layer to a portion of the conversion coated outer surface; (d) joining to said adhesive layer a polymer sheet having a thickness of about 10-100 microns and comprising an interior side adjacent said adhesive layer and an exterior side coated with a reflective metal layer having a thickness of less than about 5000 Å and comprising a metal selected from the group consisting of steel, chromium, aluminum and mixtures thereof, thereby to form a metal-polymer laminate; (e) cutting and shaping said laminate into at least one strip; (f) applying an adhesive to at least one surface of said strip; (g) coextruding said strip with a layer of pigmented polymer, said pigmented polymer layer adhering to said adhesive; and (h) removing said pigmented polymer layer from said polymer sheet.
 11. The process of claim 10 wherein said pigmented polymer layer comprises PVC. 